Window well hoods



1958 4R. E. NELSON ETAL 2,363,177

WINDOW WELL HOODS Filed Feb. 4, 1957 Raider E Nglspm Raymond E E0):

INVENTORS shown in Fig. 2.

United States Patent i wmnow wnnn HOODS RaiderE. Nelson and lgaymond E.;Kon, Chicago, Ill. ApplicationpFebruary 4,1957, *SerialfNo. 537,915

. .8 Claims rcncogn Our invention relates 'to protective devices for the window wells of dwellings, and one object is to provide a device'of this kindninuthe form of ;a hood which is placed over the window .Well as a guard against children accidentally falling into the well, or the entrance of "leaves or trash from the surrounding'area.

A further object is to provide a hood of substantially quarter-spherical form to conform to the opening in the well and fit against the wall of the building behind the well.

Another object is to provide means for supporting the hood spacedly from the rim of the window well, so that the interior of the well may be ventilated.

An additional object is to provide a series of supports in the area surrounding the window well, such supports having means for maintaining the hood at a desired height.

An important object is to construct the improved hood with a minimum number of parts, in order that the installation may be produced at relatively low cost.

With the above objects in view, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a perspective view of the improved hood;

Fig. 2' is a cross-section; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the elements involved in the hood support.

V 2,863,177 "Patented Dec. 9, 1958 ice 1 It will now be apparent, with a number of supports of the character just'described applied to the rim flange 22,

that theuhood will be supported at the desired height;

the entrance of external objects.

In'casethe weightof the hood tends to impose an out ward strain upon the stakes 25, simple means to counter act this tendency are provided. Such means consist of a coil -spring-35 in the region of each stake 25. 'Thus, the

inner end of-the coil spring, is formed as a hook 36 engaging the top bead 37 of the lining wall 15, while ;the outer end of 'the spring is formed into a hook or loopf38 engaging the stake.

:The installation described above has a number of advantageous features. Thus, the form and material of the hood -29 provide a closure against external ob- In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to I the drawing indicates the building wall at 10, the window at 11, and the window well at 12. It is customary to line the outer surface of the well with a wall 15 of corrugated sheet metal in order to prevent soil from dropping into the well; and such wall 15 rises some distance above the ground, as indicated at 16.

The protective hood for the window well is indicated at 20, being formed from a sheet of sturdy transparent plastic material in order to allow light to pass to the window 11. The hood 20 is of quarter-spherical form, one end being adapted to meet the surface of the building wall it), while the other is a short distance above the lining wall 15. The bottom of the hood is formed with an outward rim flange 22 for the purposes of the present invention. A sealing strip 21 occurs between the hood and the wall. 7

The rim flange 22 of the hood 20 is intended to receive 'means for supporting the hood 20 at the desired height, and such means comprise supports in front and at the sides. Each of these supports mainly involves an iron stake 25 which is driven partly into the ground, as The stake is preferably of circular cross-section; and the divergent prongs 26 of a spring clip 28 are perforated in line for the passage of the upper portion of each stake 25, as shown in Fig. 2, the tension of the prongs serving to hold the clip in engagement with the stake. The inner portion of the clip is formed with a pocket 30 which is engageable with the rim flange 22 as shown in the same figure. The material of the clip 28 is flat spring steel, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

-jects while passing light into i the window well.

Further, a series of supports are provided which combine with a bottom formation of the hood to maintain the same at any desired height in relation to the window well. Further, no bolts or complicated attachments are required for the support of the hood, the simple stakes 25 and spring clips 28 employed for this purpose being both economical to produce and easy to apply and adjust. Purther, the springs 35 for checking the spread of the stakes from the well are most simple in their form and application. It is therefore conceivable that the accessories for the hood may be produced at relatively low cost and attended to without the need of skill in case of repair or replacement.

While We have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be made therein without departing from its principle, and we reserve the right to employ all such changes and refinements as may come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, a series of fixed members surounding the hood, and elements carried by such members engaging said flange for supporting the hood, said members being stakes partly driven into the ground, said elements being clips perforated for the passage of the upper portions of the stakes, and such clips being adjustable along the stakes to support the hood at a desired height.

2. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, a series of fixed members surrounding the hood, and elements carried by such members engaging said flange for supporting the hood, said members being stakes partly driven into the ground, each of said elements being a spring clip with divergent prongs perforated for the passage of the upper portion of the related stake, the tension of the prongs serving to keep the clip in engagement with the stake, and the clip having a receptacle engaging said flange.

3. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, a series of fixed members surrounding the hood, and elements carried by such members engaging said flange for supporting the hood, said members being stakes partly driven into the ground, each of said elements being a spring clip with divergent prongs perforated for the passage of the upper portion of the related stake, the tension of the prongs serving to keep the clip in engagement with the stake, and the clip having a head portion formed with a pocket engaging said flange.

portion of the related stake, the tension of the prongs 1 serving to keep the clip in engagement with the stake, and the clip havinga receptacle engaging said flange, the gathering of said prongs serving to loosen them from the stake to permit the sliding of the clip along the same.

5. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, and means externally of the hood applicable to said flange for supporting the hood, said means including a stake driven partly into the ground, and second means for retaining the stake from hood, wherein the window well has a wall of lining 1 material, said means including a stake driven partly into the ground, and a tie device between said wall and the 4 stake to check outward departure of the latter from the window well.

7. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, and means externally of the hood applicable to said flange for supporting the hood, wherein the window well has a wall of lining material, said means including a stake driven partly into the ground, and a spring type tie device between said wall and the stake to check outward departure of the latter from the window well.

8. A protector for a window well comprising a hood formed with an outward base flange, and means externally of the hood applicable to said flange for supporting the hood, wherein'the window well has a wall of lining material, said means including a stake driven partly into the ground, and a tie device in the form of a coil spring between said wall and the stake, such coil spring having terminal hooks engaging the top of the wall and the stake respectively 7 r References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,427,180 Welch Aug. 29, 1922 2,226,812 Goldberg Dec. 31, 1940 2,761,180 Krelwitz Sept. 4, 1956 

